robert-temple-1 French director Julien Leclercq, who also co-scripted this film set in 'the near future', has produced a marvel of style and menace in this tale riddled with ambiguities. There are identical twins, people who switch identities, people who forget entirely who they are, others who remember being someone else, and general questions of identity. The film is a tease, and is extremely thought-provoking. The colour film stock has been flashed, so that it is very faded, and the scenes have then been tinted blue by shooting through a blue lens, which sometimes is removed when focusing on the people. In fact, there seem to be several tones and shades, and whether this was done while shooting or in the film processing I do not know. At times, it is nearly 'blanc et noir', as the French call black and white, or should I say 'bleu et noir'. The art direction is superb. Some of the acting is intentionally stylized, with the secret villains remaining aloof, calculating, and showing hypocritical and unconvincing warmth to the people they are manipulating in the story. The Bulgarian villain is convincingly psychopathic, and really, he is the best example I have seen why Bulgarians should be restricted in their right to travel within the EU. We just don't want to run into him, or his brother! There are some grisly but mind-boggling scenes of intense individual combat and martial arts at close quarters in confined spaces here, and I cannot imagine how many weeks or months it must have taken to rehearse all those moves. The film has some deeply disturbing aspects of technological innovation as applied to human mind manipulation, and there are numerous stressful scenes which sensitive souls would do well not to watch. If you have a low stress level, do not buy this DVD, as you really will not be able to sleep afterwards. But for those who can tough it out, it is well worth watching, and studying carefully. Leclercq is above all a master stylist, and perhaps he should be a designer. There are several excellent performances in this film, and it does not matter that the dialogue is rudimentary, for the silences and ambiguities are all the more effective as a result of the lack of verbal exposition. As is usual in all modern French thrillers, a sense of deep paranoia about the French state pervades the tale, and the security services are the ultimate villains. And now that the French state is run by what they call 'the Bermuda Triangle' (Hollande and his two feuding women), the fact that people disappear and re-emerge, memories vanish into black holes and are then summoned forth again, seems part of the surreal political landscape of today, as if it had been anticipated by Leclercq in 2007, and premonitorily evoked. Instead of the women and girls being called Manon and Clemence as in this film, one expects them to be called Segolène and Valérie. Or would that be too much for the nerves to bear? And at the controls of the new technology in this film is the eerie Marthe Keller, who plays a German immigrant to France, thus reminding us of 1940 and all those charming Germans who came to France at that time, with similar intentions to make people disappear. The warnings about mind control implicit in this film should be taken seriously. Mind control projects have been going on for half a century or more, and they only get worse, so watch and learn.

garyvanhorn OK, just so everyone knows it's a foreign film, French to be exact, and it is best watched in subtitles because the dubbing is terribad. If you can't stand to read your movie don't bother. Chrysalis is a sci-fi action thriller that pits an angry, vengeance driven Europol cop against a former Bulgarian special agent for control over the technology to create, implant, and erase human memories. The fight scenes are very well done and I really liked the "hard" fighting style that was employed rather than the "soft" martial arts so often seen in movies. The tech was very well done and low key, something I appreciated, too often sci-fi movies favor gadgets over plot. I liked the story but would have liked to have seen a bit more character development. All said I enjoyed the movie and I am glad I saw it.

Siamois There are many ingredients of the cyberpunk genre in this film, which is why I was looking forward to see it. Unfortunately, it is a weird mix and while Leclerq obviously has a flair for aesthetics, he would have been better off letting someone else write the script.Albert Dupontel, better known as an actor and director of comedies, continues his recent transition to more "heroic" roles. Here, he has amazing presence and physicality playing David Hoffmann, a hard-nosed cop. Unfortunately, the script is so bad, the direction so poor, that sometimes you just can't believe his lines or behavior.His character is not the only one lacking development and substance. Everyone surrounding him looks even more like a walking cliché. Marie Guillard lacks credibility as Becker, Hoffman's pretty rookie partner. Veteran actor Marthe Keller plays a doctor with an agenda and recites her uninspiring lines without conviction. Alain Figlarz is intensely physical as the movie's main goon but as a villain, again the script doesn't sell him very well. There are many other characters we equally do not care about. Apparently, in the future, every woman in the police department will be a pretty girl who looks unfit for the job.So, if the plot is terrible, the characters uninteresting and their lines ridiculous, why exactly does it deserve a 5 rating? Well for one, there are martial arts scene in the pure tradition of Bourne. the context in which they happen is silly but their execution is actually flawless and they are pulse-pounding. Kudos to Dupontel here. He delivers big. The rendition of a Paris in the not-so-distant future is also beautiful. It's mostly interiors (few outside shots) but you do get a nice feel of what could realistically be the future. It's extremely stylish and European. Speaking of which, the photography here is very good.What you're left with is a movie that combines elements of techno-thriller, noir and sci-fi and takes itself very seriously. Unfortunately, it's not done well enough. When your scenario lacks credibility, a good way to save it is by injecting something else. Irony, humor or romance. But Chrysalis never does that. And the action is sparse enough that we notice it's flaws.I hope Leclerq will pursue his career but I'd rather he directs and let someone write.

cashiersducinemart A by-the-numbers cop movie with sci-fi elements, this French policier felt very tired than being the fresh, slick thriller it so wanted to be. Loud gunshots, car crashes and fist fights are utilized as an attempt to break up the monotony of the script by Leclerq, Nicolas Peufaillit, Franck Philippon , and Aude Py (yes, it took four people to write this film when it felt like one person could have written it in their sleep).Plugging into the generic lead role this time out are Albert Dupontel as David Hoffman, the take-no-prisoners cop who'd rather get the job done right than follow procedure. Hoffman looses not only his partner in the opening gun battle but his wife as well. Now it's personal…times deux. He's partnered with the well-meaning newbie Marie Becker (Marie Guillard) and the two work to find the truth behind a series of deaths. Of course, these murders are ultimately tied back to the fateful opening gunfight and to the plot of Doctor Brugen (Marthe Keller) helping her daughter regain her memories after a tragic auto accident.The large, gleaming neon sign points out the insidious mucky-muck plot device of a terrible weapon that's fallen into the wrong hands. Think "Project Janus" of JUDGE DREDD or any other number of government-funded weapons that have gone awry. This time it's a set of head gear that can download, erase, or implant memories into a subject. As government stooge Patrick Bachau (producer of CHRYSALIS) explains to his niece, Marie, the Chrysalis machine could be used to implant the memory of a fervent jihadist into innocent minds to create an army of terror killers. Likewise, a powerful business man could go on living forever by putting his mind into a younger body. If you just thought of FREEJACK, you're not alone.The only scene missing from CHRYSALIS is the rewriting of Hoffman's memories and his struggle to maintain his identity. (That might not be in the film but the scene of him handing over his gun and his badge is!) Rather, Hoffman's mind is wiped. This may actually be a good thing as it removes the demons of his haunted past and allows Maria the chance to be the weak protagonist for a while. Things shake out just as you know they will. There's even a "the media will love this" scene with Guillard and Bachau at the end.CHRYSALIS isn't a bad film so much as it's misleading. It's a light snack that pretends to be a three course meal.